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Glass Bread ~ Pan Crystal ~ BBB

Glass Bread ~ Pan Crystal ~ BBB

Flour Water Yeast ~ Basic Simple Same

Every bread recipe is the same simple basic: flour, water, yeast. And every time it comes out of the oven it’s 

Dramatic Complex Different ~ Flour Water Yeast

Years ago, the Babes baked the infamous “Crock” aka Coccodrillo, Crocodile Bread AND Babe’s Nightmare. You will find the recipe in Carol Field’s The Italian Baker.  At the time, it was the highest water ratio the Babes had ever dealt with. Now, along comes Kelly in AMessyKitchen bringing us Glass Bread with 106% water! There was at least one Babe with hellish memories of the “Crock” and the outcry was deafening. That Babe shall remain nameless at least here. It was not I. I found the “Crock” good bread and had no issues. Yeast can be fickle.

I strongly urge you to catch this sourdough version video because it shows the coiling turns so beautifully.  I guess I would say this is a bread to be handled delicately once you turn the dough out to cut and then move to parchment paper.  I was overwhelmed with how this dough transformed between coiling turns. Kelly advocates strong gluten bread flour to stand up to the huge amount of water and I would second that advice. Even I did not add flax or any whole wheat HOWEVER when I did the sourdough version I confess my starter is a whole grain rye and that is what I used.

Comparing my yeast and sourdough bakes, I think you will find the yeast has better color, better rise and many more holes. Both had wonderful oven spring but still the yeast was the winner there as well. The crust was crisper on the yeast. I did leave the yeast bread in the oven longer.  I consider both versions excellent breads and would bake them again. I cut 6 rolls when doing the sourdough and find that the optimal size for sandwiches. I made travel sandwiches both times and it is excellent either way.

Using yeast…

King Arthur recipe:
    500g water
    500g King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
    2.5g (3/4 teaspoon) instant yeast
    10g salt
    15g olive oil, for the pan 



    To make the dough: Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. (To measure by volume, see “tips,” below.)

    In a medium bowl, mix the water, flour, yeast, and salt until thoroughly combined and homogenous. Note: The dough starts off very slack and wet. That’s OK; it will transform itself through time and folds.

    Oil a two-quart rectangular baking dish (10” x 7”) with the olive oil. If you don’t have a 2-quart dish, an 8” or 9” square pan will work. Don’t worry about any pan you use being oven-safe; you won’t be baking the bread in it.

    Pour the dough into the pan. Check the dough’s temperature by inserting a digital thermometer into the center. If it’s less than 72°F, move the pan to a warmer spot, e.g., your oven with the light turned on.

    Cover the pan and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.

    Start with a bowl fold: Use your wet hands to grab a section of dough from one side, lift it up, then press it down into the middle. Repeat this eight to 12 times.

My amateur video



    Cover the dish and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.

    Then do a coil fold: With wet hands, reach under the dough and stretch the middle upward until the dough releases from the dish. Roll it forward off your hands, allowing it to fold over (or “coil”) on itself. This is called a coil fold. Rotate the dish 90 degrees (a quarter turn) and repeat. Continue performing this folding action until the dough feels like it won’t stretch and elongate easily, usually four to five times initially. Note: You’ll be doing this three more times, each time building strength and developing the dough. See “tips,” below, for more details,

    Cover the pan and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.

    Repeat the coil fold. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.

    At this point, the dough should be easier to handle and feel tighter. Repeat the coil fold using only two or three folds this time. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.

    Repeat the coil fold one last time, using only one or two folds if the dough is relatively strong. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rest for about 80 minutes.

    To divide the dough: As gently as possible, turn the dough out onto a heavily floured surface, maintaining the rectangle or square shape – be careful not to deflate the delicate dough. Sprinkle a generous amount of flour on top of the dough, leaving no exposed sticky spots. Then, working as gently as possible, use a bench knife or other sharp knife to divide it into four pieces. Gently place two pieces on a piece of parchment, leaving space between them. Repeat with the remaining two pieces of dough, placing them on another piece of parchment.

    Allow the loaves to rest at room temperature for 2 hours, uncovered. While the loaves are resting, preheat the oven to 475°F with a baking stone or steel on a lower rack. (If you don’t have a stone or steel, see “tips,” below.) Allow the oven to preheat for 1 hour to ensure it’s thoroughly heated. The loaves are ready for the oven when there are a few large bubbles on the surface of each loaf and they feel light and airy.

    To bake the bread: Carefully slide the two loaves (still resting on the parchment) into the oven onto the preheated stone or steel. If space is tight and the full sheet of parchment won’t fit on the stone or steel, cut the parchment between the two loaves and arrange them as best you can. Allow the other two loaves to continue to rest.

    Bake the loaves for 15 minutes, then transfer them, from the stone or steel, directly onto a rack in the upper third of the oven for an additional 13 to 15 minutes. (Leave the stone in place.) Moving them to the rack allows the baking stone or steel to become hot again in preparation for the next two loaves. After a total of 27 to 30 minutes of baking, remove the loaves from the oven and allow them to cool on a rack.

    Repeat the process with the two remaining loaves. Cool the bread fully before slicing.

    Storage information: Wrap the bread loosely and store it at room temperature for up to several days; freeze for longer storage.

SOURDOUGH VERSION

Formula for four:
470g strong flour
470g water (400+70)*
10g olive oil
11g salt
100g whole grain rye starter (100% hydration)

Method:
Mix flour and water.
Autolyse above for 45min.

Add 100g starter to autolysed flour and water and work it together well;
Give that a 60 minute rest.
Combine 70g reserve COLD water & 11g salt,
add half and fold/mix together.
Allow 10min rest
Add remaining water/salt & mix well;
add EVO & mix,
Allow 15 min rest
1.  Folds: Oil square cake pan,
add dough and do a few large (coil) folds.
45 min rest
2.  Folds: Large (coil) folds in thirds, then rotate 90 and fold in thirds,
rest 45 min
3.  Folds: Repeat folds,
rest 45 min Folds:
4.  Repeat folds,
rest 45 min Folds:
5.  Repeat folds, 

In retrospect I believe I should have given the dough another 2 folds; every fold and rest really give this dough strength.

Overnight in fridge for cold bulk
Room temp rest 60 minute .
Heavily flour table and pour the dough out, ~ if you watch the video you’ll see I think the move that works the best: just turn the pan upside down, hold it 2-3 inches above and let it fall out.
divide into 4 pieces – I did 6 for my 2nd bake and place on parchment.
60 min rest
Bake on steel at 500ºF for 8min with steam,
drop to 410 and bake for 20 minutes – I would give it 5 or more minutes more next time.

*Note that the 70g is mixed with the salt and kept aside to incorporate after initial autolyse..

Sample timeline:  
_______p.m. Mix the dough ____________
_______p.m. Bowl fold ____________
_______p.m. Coil fold #1 ____________
_______p.m. Coil fold #2 ____________
_______p.m. Coil fold #3 ____________
_______p.m. Coil fold #4 ____________ 

_______p.m. Coil fold #5 ____________
_______p.m. Coil fold #6 ____________
_______p.m. Coil fold #7 ____________
_______p.m. Coil fold #8 ____________
______p.m. Coil fold #9 ____________
______p.m. Coil fold #10 ____________

_______p.m. Divide ____________
_______p.m. Bake ____________

Want to bake with us?  We’d love to have you bake the Glass Bread with us.

This bread makes sparklingly crisp sandwich rolls. Really, you just need to try it!


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BBB ~ Pepperoni Rolls

When I first saw the post for January’s Babe bread, I thought here’s a simple easy fun bake perfect for after the holiday crazy actions. A small stuffed roll perfect for just about anytime, anyplace and any occasion.  Our host kitchen, FeedingMyEnthusiasms, has a good story on finding this bread you should find fun.

A quick read through the recipe and … Pepperoni…ha, I’m in!

My next reading brought me up short. I left the following on the blog: Ye gad, I’m just looking at that 3/4 cup of sugar! Really with pepperoni?! Sounds terribly sweet. How much sugar does this need? What amount of sugar will change the texture here? Adding this much sugar to something that seems savory is REALLY foreign to me. I get the feeling this is a very Americanized food, we just add sugar to everything.

Simple and easy … Then there was a long discussion of what if you don’t want meat!! That how I happen to have the sautéed mushroom with pepperoni spices idea. VERY good.

Holy Batman! I made them. Did I follow the recipe? Better than I thought I had on initial inspection but I divided the ingredients in half and only added 20 grams of sugar … and when the dough just wouldn’t come together – fully 3/4 of a cup of flour was not going to incorporate – I threw  in the rye sourdough throw out from the night before. I threw that in and it was perfect. This took a full 90 minutes to double.  We were having our “pod” friends (pod being like minded fully vaccinated friends) for pepperoni pizza dinner. SOOOO for filling I used pepperoni seasoned baby Bella mushrooms sliced, there were 4 half slices of cooked bacon added to the mushrooms … then there were two dough balls left when I ran out of mushrooms and bacon, perhaps there was a slice or two of cheese as well.  The last two dough balls: one I filled with pepperoni and one I filled with ……..see below.
These were seriously good 😊!!!  They were a terrific appetizer for hungry boys before pizza! 

Continue reading →


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BBB ~ Hällakakor Flatbread from Sweden

Do we ever know bread? Probably not, just like can you ever have enough bread books? Probably not.

Unbeknownst to me, I’ve had a kuskavel in my rolling pin drawer for any number of years. Didn’t know it’s name. Didn’t know what it’s specialty was. Don’t remember where I came upon it. I just thought it was fun looking and might work on crackers which I tried once. Don’t really remember how that turned out.

This is the Kuskavel. See what I mean about fun looking.

Kelly from MessyKitchen is our host Kitchen of the Month and the bread she brought us is delightful! Flatbread from Sweden. Sounds simple and yes it is. It is one of those simple breads that is so much more than it’s simplicity. Check out Kelly’s site for all the background on this bread!

Before baking powder there was deer horn salt aka baker’s ammonia. And about that deer horn salt aka baker’s ammonia, yes you can get it from Amazon, and yes it really is ammonia, and yes it really smells like ammonia and yes it really SMELLS. BUT somehow it bakes away. I baked this first with baking powder and then took some really deep breaths (not over the baker’s ammonia) after Kelly assured me I would not smell it after baking and gutted it up and baked the recipe using the deer horn salt aka Baker’s ammonia. I could not discern any appreciable difference in texture or bake between the two.

Hällakakor – Swedish flatbread

Makes: 8 pieces

350 g wholemeal wheat flour 

62 g wholemeal rye flour

(Second bake: 250 grams whole wheat flour + 162 grams rye)

1 g (¼ tsp) deer horn salt (baker’s ammonia), dissolved in water (you can use baking powder instead)

6 g yeast

8 g sea salt

25 g honey

20 g butter

235g milk (dairy or non dairy works fine)

1 teaspoon caraway, crushed in a mortar/pestle)

I kneaded a very stiff dough for 15 minutes. I probably added 10-20 grams water while kneading. Let rise for 6 hours at room temperature and knock back and briefly knead twice in the first two hours.  (The dough can also be chilled overnight.)

Cut off 85 – 95 gram portions and shape into round balls.  Flour lightly and let rise briefly, about 20 minutes.  Roll out round dough circles to about 25cm or 9in with a notched or regular rolling pin.  Dock well if using a flat rolling pin.  If using a grooved pin, follow with the notched pin.

Preheat the oven to the highest possible temperature (500° worked best for my oven & stone. 525° seemed too hot) and ideally place the flatbread directly on a baking stone or steel and bake them into golden, soft flatbread. Bake for 3-4 minutes each. Mine took 4 minutes.

I did play with the flours in this recipe. My first bake was as Kelly wrote it. My second bake I took 100 grams from the whole wheat and make it rye. I used caraway seeds in both those bakes. We enjoyed both and I really couldn’t discern any difference between them. My third bake yesterday I tried 162 grams whole grain barley. The dough never really rose anything like the first two batches. While the dough came together, it remained crumbly throughout the entire process and was even very difficult to get onto the baking stone without cracking and breaking pieces off. In an effort to prevent breaking apart I didn’t roll it so thin and it did a little better.

Haven’t tried any of the barley flatbread yet but we’ll be taking it on a short road trip today and I’ll report back later.

I hope you’ll bake this one with us. Now that days are probably somewhat busy these flat breads are easy and throughly entertaining and engaging! As Kelly says: Hällakakor can be frozen and then reheated straight out of the freezer on a flat toaster, toaster oven, or hot pan. They should refresh well and taste like they were freshly baked out of the oven. They are lovely with butter and jam or syrup, or with mascarpone and jam. They are just as good with an herbed cheese spread or to sop up stew or curry. We would love for you to try out this flat bread with us this month and share how you used it! New recipes are posted every month on the 16th. Check out our Facebook group to see the participants’ baking results during that time.

Ready! Set! BAKE!!


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Le Tordu ~ BBB February 2020 ~ 12th Anniversary

Recipe: French Regional Breads by Mouette Barboff as brought to us by Elle: Feeding My Enthusiasams
Yield: 1 or 2 loaves

Kitchen of the Month Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasms, raised an incredible amount of comment this month, interest, confusion and for me my first ever real experience into making a real effort to understand baker’s percentage.  Why was that you might ask?  Because this is a book written by and I believe a professional baker for professional and commercial bakeries.  When I read 10 kg of strong white bread flour I was stopped dead. There is no container in my kitchen that is going to hold 22 pounds of flour. I didn’t even bother to try to add the water into that container that didn’t exist. Elizabeth thought she could put it in her bath tub but there would be protest from her mate. We have a shower, no tub yet. Hence, baker’s percentages to make this a reasonable recipe for Babes.  The enthralling aspect of this recipe is the shape. In the book, it looks like to lovers wrapped around each other. What could be more romantic for Valentines, the month of February and the Babe’s 12th anniversary!  None of my three loaves ever came out looking anything like two lovers BUT all three bakes were magnificent loaves!  This is great bread.
I never did get around to baking this with just white flour. I try to bake with whole grains and we were both really captivated when I used the sprouted wheat and then the rye.

The Recipe as written:
10 kg strong white bread flour
6 litres (approximately) water
60 g yeast (6 g per kg of flour)
2.5 kg levain (sourdough starter) – 25% of the amount of flour
The Recipe as written with rye flour:
1 kg strong white bread flour (Type 55)
100 g medium rye flour (Type 130)
20 g table salt (2% per kg)
15 g yeast (1.5% per kg)
3/4 l water at 12 degrees C
5 g malt (0.5% per kg)
30% fermented dough
Baking: 20 minutes
My First Bake

IMG_0656
550 g bread flour
50 g rye flour
10 g salt
7 g salt
315 g water
3 g diastatic malt
165 starter
My Second Bake:

IMG_0785
Flour total = 700 g
450 g Bread flour
100 g spelt flour
150 g rye
5 g diastatic malt powder
420 g water
14 g salt
Smidgen yeast
175 g starter
My Third Bake:

IMG_0961
550 g bread flour
150 g rye flour
10 g salt
400 g water
6 g diastatic malt
4 g yeast
175 starter

Directions:

1. Mix flour(s), yeast, water, and diastatic malt powder (if using) in a large bowl. 
When well mixed, allow 10 to 20 minutes for the flour(s) to absorb the water.

2. When well mixed and after resting those 10 to 20 minutes, add in the fermented/starter dough. The dough should be rather firm in order to hold its shape when shaped.
Knead for several minutes until the two doughs are well blended.
Pour salt on the counter and knead into the dough.

3. Allow the dough to rest several hours. Stretch and fold several times.

4. Depending upon how much flour used, you may have dough for only one loaf.
My first bake produced dough weighing 1050 grams which I divided into two loaves about 10 inches long.  I felt they were too fat and not long enough. But they were delicious and both of us loved the sprouted wheat used, really lends a lovely aroma.
My second and third bakes I made one loaf each bake.

5. Shaping Fold the dough twice across its wides part and then flatten gently with the flat of the hands into a rectangle about the length expected to be.
Lightly flour the dough.
I used my thinnest rolling pin the first two times but purchased a 3/4 inch dowel for the third (which is what I recommend).
Place the rolling pin/dowel in the middle of the dough and flatten the center creating two rolls.
Flour lightly and flip over. Flour 2nd side lightly and flatten again.
Lift one roll on top of the other so that the rolls are now side by side.
Roll/twist twice holding the dough tight.

6. Place the twisted loaf on a couch, between two rolling pins in a plastic bag or in a clay baker with lid.
Cover and allow to rise/prove for an hour to hour 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 450° F(230° C)

7. Oven HOT Bake with steam.
The book says an 800 gram loaf bakes for 25 minutes and a 4 pound loaf for 40 minutes.
All three of my bakes were with whole grains therefore I bake them to an internal temperature of 205°F.

Notes:

For my first bake I carefully I calculated the baker’s percentages … and then in a fleeting instant of inattention – allowed the scale to shut off – I only had 485 g bread flour and tried to figure what else I was going to use to get to 550 g that I had calculated … I crazily added 115 g sprouted wheat.  I obviously can not add under pressure. And only now realize my mistake as I see I added more flour than my calculation had called for.  I also ended up with 2 extra grams of diastatic malt powder in the flour and couldn’t really reasonably pull it out.

I am not really smart enough to tell you what my starter is. I suppose I should be embarrassed to tell you I used some left over dough from another bread using commercial yeast and started feeding it rye and whole wheat for about 5 days and felt like it got happy and that’s what I used. Hydration level … ha ha, no idea. So I’m no help knowing what Barboff means by fermented dough. The only clue I’ve seen is the fermented dough is from the previous days batch and the previous days batch might have been pain de campagne dough.  Practically speaking, “previous days batch” in my kitchen could have been any number of things, none of which would have proved useful.

I did use the 10 g salt and it seemed good. I think the malt got be really nice color and I will use the 5 g that got in by mistake on purpose next time. I’m going to use the diastatic malt powder more often as it does brown the crust so nicely.

For the first bake the dough weight was 1050 g and my 2 loaves weighted amazingly 525 each. Each loaf measured 10 inches long.

Second Bake: The loaf was 20 inches long and fit corner to corner on a sheet pan. Final rise was an hour 45 minutes.

Third Bake: When the dough was set to rise/prove for an hour … we ended up going into town … the dough went into the fridge for 3 hours and then sat out for two hours to come back to room temperature before I shaped it.  Shaped it went into a covered clay baker. I baked it at 450° covered for 15 minutes.
When I uncovered the loaf, I put the oven thermometer into the loaf and set it to alarm when the internal temperature reached 205°. I think that was another 20 minutes but I didn’t really watch.

You’ll surely want to be a Buddy this month, these long, twisty breads are so delicious! Just make the  loaves (see Feeding My Enthusiasms), then email your link ( or email your photo and bit about your experience if you don’t have a blog) to plachman *at*sonic*dot*net and please add as your subject ‘BBBuddy’. I will send you a Buddy badge. Deadline? March 1.


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BBB ~ Arkatena Bread ~ 2nd time around …

Seems like I had really strangely good results with this recipe the first time around … except the “ring” closed in on me. Great taste, nice crumb, lovely loaf; however I was not totally keen on the fennel seeds. Elizabeth wanted to try an idea she found in Paula Wolfert’s Mediterranean Grains and Greens book.  Elizabeth can claim innocence all she wants but it is absolutely ALL her fault that I HAD to order the book when she made that reference.  Wolfert’s idea in her recipe for Checkpea-Leavened Bread is to make a aromatic brew of bay leaves, cinnamon stick, fennel seeds, whole cloves and water that is used for liquid when making the bread.  I like the idea of an aroma brew just not that particular combo so I’ve made one with bay leaves and rosemary for this bread.

Why did this work for me? I used the full amounts of ingredients in the starter.  Elizabeth cut the starter ingredients in half so as to avoid throw away.  By using the full amounts, I only had 50 grams left over and added that to some previous throw out which I refreshed and used to make waffles so no throw out for me. Win!

IMG_0691

Do you believe in Serendipity? When I started putting my present kitchen together last year, in considering countertops for the bake area I thought it would be grand to have a cool/cold slab of marble. When I considered how often I did pie crust and croissants, and looked at the cost it just seemed crazy.  Lucky I didn’t go that route because that (above) is just the perfect warm spot for bread rising at least in winter when the furnace runs as the vent is just below. Serendipity!  As you can see from above, I use a shower cap (no plastic wrap) to cover the bowl or a lid to cover the bowl with starter or dough in it to retain moisture. To keep any drafts off the bowl, just like I wrap my neck in scarves, I do the same with my dough/starter bowls.

I have never taken the temperature of water or dough … until this time.  We set the thermoeter in winter at 66 during the day and 62 at night.  This recipe seemed to harp on the idea that everything should be working at 80-81°.  For whatever reason, I got curious after day 3 and Stage 1: the production leaven.  The dough was 76°!  Even sitting on that warm spot. The last of the stretch and folds went into into the oven with the light on and also the last rise in the shaping basket covered with a shower cap.  The dough was coming in at 79° and feeling lighter with each rest and rise.

The last thing I did different was to use organic rye in place of the whole-wheat flour of Day 3 AND unbleached all-purpose was always white whole wheat flour AND finally for Stage 2: arkatena dough I replaced half of the all-purpose white whole wheat flour with bread flour.

BBB ~ Arkatena Bread

Recipe By: Elizabeth : based on recipe from Andrew Whitley’s Bread Matters
Yield: 1 ring loaf

Ingredients:

Day 1
30 g chickpea flour
40 g water

67C82A83-7103-465F-914E-12D7D97D323C_1_201_a
Day 2
all the starter from Day 1 (total of 70 g)
30 g chickpea flour
40 g water
Day 3
all the starter from Days 1&2 (total of 140 g)
80 g 100% wholewheat flour
60 g water
Leavener
50 g whole wheat flour
50 g chickpea flour
150 bread flour
150 white whole wheat
all the bubbling arkatena starter from above (total of 160 g)
120 g water

Actual Dough
100 g whole wheat flour
150 g bread flour
20 g ground flax seed
300 g water, divided (keep back 25g for adding the salt)
all the leavener
10 g sea salt
2 g rosemary seeds used in waters
Topping white & black sesame seedsIMG_0718

Directions:

1. starter: In the late afternoon, three days before you will be baking the bread:
Put 30 grams chickpea flour (aka gram flour, besan) and 70 grams water into a medium-sized bowl. Use a wooden spoon to mix it together. Cover the bowl with a shower cap and wrap in towel to keep drafts off then left on counter with heat vent underneath – the counter is warmed by the vent.

2. In the late afternoon, two days before you will be baking the bread: Use a wooden spoon to stir 70 grams chickpea flour and 30 grams water into the mixture in the bowl. Re-cover the bowl with a shower cap and leave on warm counter top wrapped in towel.

3. In the late afternoon, one day before you will be baking the bread: Use a wooden spoon to stir 80 grams whole wheat flour and 60 grams water into the mixture in the bowl. Re-cover the bowl with a shower cap and leave on warm counter. Andrew Whitley writes: After a few more hours fermentation, you should have a lively arkatena starter.
leavener: In the late evening of the day before you will be baking the bread, put all the leavener ingredients into a medium-sized bowl and stir with a wooden spoon to create dough.
Cover with a shower cap and left on a warm counter top. Whitley writes that this takes about 4 hours and that the leavener is ready when it has “expanded appreciably but not collapsed on itself“.
actual dough: In the morning of the day you will be baking the bread:
Put flours, wheat germ, the leavener, and all but 25 grams of water into a large mixing bowl. Stir with a dough whisk (or wooden spoon). Cover with a shower cap and set aside on the counter for 30 to 40 minutes.  Several of the Babes commented that they had a very loose dough that made for a flat loaf.  When I mixed this I thought it was DRY and might never come together but it finally did. At no time did I find this a loose dough, it held it’s shape very well for me. No idea why.
Adding the salt: In a small bowl, whisk the salt into the final 25 grams water. Pour the salt mixture over the dough.
Kneading: Use one of your hands to squoosh the salt and water into the dough; use the other hand to steady the bowl – this way you always have a clean hand. At first the dough might be a bit messy and seem like it’s coming apart. Persevere. Suddenly, it will seem more like dough than a horrible separated glop. Keep folding it over onto itself until it is relatively smooth. Cover with a shower cap and leave to rest for about 30 minutes.
Stretching and folding the dough: Turn the bowl as you fold and re-fold the dough into the center. Cover the bowl with a plate and leave on the counter (or if the kitchen is cool like ours in winter and spring, into the oven with only the light turned on). Repeat the folding step about 3 times in all at 30 minute intervals. You’ll notice that after each time, the dough will feel significantly smoother (in spite of the grains from the multi-grain cereal). After the final time of folding, the dough is ready to pre-shape.
Pre-shaping: Scatter a light dusting of all-purpose flour on the board and gently place the dough onto the board. Fold the dough over in half, gently patting off any extra flour that might be there. Continue folding in half until the dough is shaped in a ball. Cover with the bowl and let rest for about 30 minutes.
Shaping and adding the topping: Without breaking the skin, use the dough scraper on the sides to tighten the dough ball further. Once it has been tightened, run your hands under the cold water tap. Poke a hole the center of the ball to form a ring, then gently rub the top of the ring to wet it thoroughly. Cover the top with a single layer of sesame seeds. Lightly spray again before putting the shaped loaf onto a piece of parchment paper (or into a rice-floured brotform). Cover with the tea towel again and let sit for an hour or so to allow the loaf to almost double.
I used a glass to hold the hole open.  Ultimately the hole closed in baking.
Baking: To know when it’s time to bake, run your index finger under water and gently but firmly press it on the side of the bread. If the dough springs back immediately, recover the bread with the tea towel and leave it in the oven with only the light turned on. If the dough gradually returns back after being pressed, leave the tray on the counter. Put cast-iron combo cooker and/or baking stone on the middle shelf of the oven and preheat to 400F. When the oven is preheated about fifteen minutes later:
First bake: I used a metal disk covered with parchment paper to shape my loaf. I placed a parchment sling (long strip of triple fold parchment) under the metal dish so I could lift the loaf and drop it into my cast iron cooker. Worked like a charm.
Second Bake: Freeform on Baking Stone: Transfer the shaped loaf onto the hot stone. Place an overturned stainless steel mixing bowl to cover the bread. Immediately turn the oven down to 375F. Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue baking for another 30 minutes, until the crust is a lovely dark golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when knuckle-rapped on the bottom.
Cooling: When the bread has finished baking, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool on a footed rack before slicing and eating. The bread is still cooking internally when first removed from the oven!
I measured the internal temperature at 205° the first bake and 210° the second bake and took it out of the oven. Whole grain breads always need a higher internal temperature than white flour.
If you wish to serve warm bread (of course you do), reheat it after it has cooled completely: To reheat any uncut bread, turn the oven to 400F for 5 minutes or so. Turn the oven OFF. Put the bread into the hot oven for about ten minutes. This will rejuvenate the crust and warm the crumb perfectly.

4. leavener: In the late evening of the day before you will be baking the bread, put all the leavener ingredients into a medium-sized bowl and stir with a wooden spoon to create dough.
Cover with a shower cap and left on a warm counter top. Whitley writes that this takes about 4 hours and that the leavener is ready when it has “expanded appreciably but not collapsed on itself“.

5. actual dough: In the morning of the day you will be baking the bread:
Put flours, wheat germ, the leavener, and all but 25 grams of water into a large mixing bowl. Stir with a dough whisk (or wooden spoon). Cover with a shower cap and set aside on the counter for 30 to 40 minutes.  Several of the Babes commented that they had a very loose dough that made for a flat loaf.  When I mixed this I thought it was DRY and might never come together but it finally did. At no time did I find this a loose dough, it held it’s shape very well for me. No idea why.

6. Adding the salt: In a small bowl, whisk the salt into the final 25 grams water. Pour the salt mixture over the dough.

7. Kneading: Use one of your hands to squoosh the salt and water into the dough; use the other hand to steady the bowl – this way you always have a clean hand. At first the dough might be a bit messy and seem like it’s coming apart. Persevere. Suddenly, it will seem more like dough than a horrible separated glop. Keep folding it over onto itself until it is relatively smooth. Cover with a shower cap and leave to rest for about 30 minutes.

8. Stretching and folding the dough: Turn the bowl as you fold and re-fold the dough into the center. Cover the bowl with a plate and leave on the counter (or if the kitchen is cool like ours in winter and spring, into the oven with only the light turned on). Repeat the folding step about 3 times in all at 30 minute intervals. You’ll notice that after each time, the dough will feel significantly smoother (in spite of the grains from the multi-grain cereal). After the final time of folding, the dough is ready to pre-shape.

9. Pre-shaping: Scatter a light dusting of all-purpose flour on the board and gently place the dough onto the board. Fold the dough over in half, gently patting off any extra flour that might be there. Continue folding in half until the dough is shaped in a ball. Cover with the bowl and let rest for about 30 minutes.

10. Shaping and adding the topping: Without breaking the skin, use the dough scraper on the sides to tighten the dough ball further. Once it has been tightened, run your hands under the cold water tap. Poke a hole the center of the ball to form a ring, then gently rub the top of the ring to wet it thoroughly. Cover the top with a single layer of sesame seeds. Lightly spray again before putting the shaped loaf onto a piece of parchment paper (or into a rice-floured brotform). Cover with the tea towel again and let sit for an hour or so to allow the loaf to almost double.

11. First Bake: I used a glass to hold the hole open.  Ultimately the hole closed in baking.

Second Bake: I used a round ring banneton with the shaped dough for the last rise. Beautiful hole!
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Can’t believe how much difference the banneton made in the final bread. I really laid the rice flour on.
12. Baking: To know when it’s time to bake, run your index finger under water and gently but firmly press it on the side of the bread. If the dough springs back immediately, recover the bread with the tea towel and leave it in the oven with only the light turned on. If the dough gradually returns back after being pressed, leave the tray on the counter. Put cast-iron combo cooker and/or baking stone on the middle shelf of the oven and preheat to 400F. When the oven is preheated about fifteen minutes later.

13. First bake: I used a metal disk covered with parchment paper to shape my loaf. I placed a parchment sling (long strip of triple fold parchment) under the metal dish so I could lift the loaf and drop it into my cast iron cooker. Worked like a charm.
Second Bake: Freeform on Baking Stone: Transfer the shaped loaf onto the hot stone. Place an overturned stainless steel mixing bowl to cover the bread. Immediately turn the oven down to 375F. Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue baking for another 30 minutes, until the crust is a lovely dark golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when knuckle-rapped on the bottom.

2nd Bake
2nd Bake

14. Cooling: When the bread has finished baking, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool on a footed rack before slicing and eating. The bread is still cooking internally when first removed from the oven!
I measured the internal temperature at 205° the first bake and 210° the second bake and took it out of the oven. Whole grain breads always need a higher internal temperature than white flour.
If you wish to serve warm bread (of course you do), reheat it after it has cooled completely: To reheat any uncut bread, turn the oven to 400F for 5 minutes or so. Turn the oven OFF. Put the bread into the hot oven for about ten minutes. This will rejuvenate the crust and warm the crumb perfectly.

 

2nd Bake
2nd Bake
1st Bake
1st Bake

 

By the way, Wolfert’s book has some amazing bread recipes and some beautiful other dishes to go with the breads.


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BBB ~ Sourdough Savory Danish Crown

Cathy was the Kitchen of the Month host for November and she really picked a woozier of a bread. Really need to read the directions for this one or you miss the mild lamination. As soon as I saw this I knew it was not one to miss…and then I missed it. Then the Babes posted and I was charged again. When I finally got the dough mixed all sorts of normal chaos ensued and the dough ended up resting for 6 entire days in the refrigerator! That should have ended things BUT chanting “Bread just wants to be Bread” I think I managed to revive and feed the little yeasties and OH MY GOODNESS this is just really great bread!

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Sourdough Savory Danish Crown

1 Crown Loaf

Adapted from Bread – The breads of the world and how to bake them at home by Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter

Dough:

  • 260 grams + 30 grams unbleached bread flour + more for sprinkling
  • 65 grams whole grain rye
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 3 Tbsp + 1 stick butter, softened
  • 50 grams sourdough starter, recently fed, active (100% hydration)
  • ½ cup lukewarm water
  • ½ cup lukewarm milk (I used oat milk)
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • After 6 days in the refrigerator: 50 grams bread flour + 40 grams water + pinch of yeast: kneaded together with above warmed dough, allowed to rise 45 minutes then shaped.
  • Filling:
  • 2 Tbsp oil
  • 2 medium onions, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic in garlic press
  • ¾ cup fresh oatmeal bread crumbs
  • ¼ cup ground almond meal
  • ½ cup freshly grated or dried Parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten, 
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • Topping:
  • 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds (I used sunflower seeds)

Using yeast instead of sourdough:

If you choose to use yeast instead of sourdough, reduce the proofing time to about 1 hour for the bulk ferment in the bowl and 30 minutes for the final ferment. You may also need to reduce the milk/water mixture to a scant cup.

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours and salt.  I grated in the 3 tablespoons of butter.

In a separate bowl, mix together the sourdough and milk/water mixture using a Danish dough whisk or wooden spoon.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix using a Danish dough whisk or wooden spoon or spatula until thoroughly combined.  Switch to a bowl scraper if necessary.

Cover the bowl and allow the dough to autolyse (rest) for 20 – 30 minutes before adding additional flour.

After the autolyse, add 30 grams of flour, if necessary.  The dough will be a little sticky, but resist the urge to add more flour until the stretch and fold stage.

Let the dough proof for about 4-6 hours at room temperature. Stretch and fold the dough every 45 minutes for the first 2.25 hours.  To perform the stretch and fold, remove the dough to a work surface sprinkled with flour, and stretch and fold the dough onto itself from all corners.  Do this 3 times.

My cold ferment went way over the planned 24-48 hours, see above ingredients for how I have it a little boost.  HAHAHA Cathy, my cold ferment went … planned who needs a plan.

After letting the dough proof at room temperature for about 4.25 hours, I covered the bowl tightly and placed it in the refrigerator.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to warm up slightly on a floured surface.

Roll out into an oblong about ½-inch thick.  Dot half (½ stick) of the remaining butter over the top two-thirds of the rolled dough.  Fold the bottom third up and the top third down, and then seal the edges. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat the process with the remaining ½ stick of butter.  Fold and seal the dough as before.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap, bees wrap, or a kitchen towel; let it rest for 15 minutes.

Turn the dough another 90 degrees.  Then roll and fold it as before without adding any butter.  Repeat the turn/fold process once more.  Wrap the dough in lightly oiled plastic wrap or bees wrap sprinkled with flour. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the onions. Heat the oil over medium-high heat and cook the onions for 10 minutes until soft and golden.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the bread crumbs, almonds, Parmesan, salt and pepper.

Add half the beaten egg, if using, or all of the gelatinized chia seeds to the onion/bread crumb mixture and bind together.

Roll the dough on a floured surface into a rectangle measuring 22×9 inches.  Spread the filling over the dough to within ¾ inch of the edges. Roll up like a Swiss roll from one of the long sides.  Cut the dough in half lengthwise using a sharp knife.  Braid the logs together with the cut sides up and shape into a ring.

Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap or bees wrap and let rise for 1-2 hours, depending on the temperature in your kitchen.

It was a little tricky braiding the two dough pieces so it might be helpful to place the cut logs in the refrigerator a little while before braiding them and forming the ring.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Brush the remaining beaten egg or the cornstarch wash over the dough.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds (or the seeds of your choice) and Parmesan cheese. I skipped the Parmesan as topping.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden.  Transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool.  Cut into slices.  Mine took a full 50 minutes.

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I will happily bake this again.


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BBB ~ English Muffins

Holidays … a full house … chaos … something special … make ahead … fun … hassle free … simple but brilliant … food … wait did you say food, as in feed this full house with chaos full strength and make it special.  And you expect to make it ahead, have it be fun, hassle free and brilliant. 
You are living in an alternate universe and not in this one.
No, truly, our Kitchen of the Month, Pat – Feeding My Enthusiasms, at least has a part of breakfast for us.  Even if you don’t have a crowd you can so two small batches over 2 days and have fresh homemade English muffins to be extravagant with honey, butter, maple syrup and jam … maybe even a peanut butter and cream cheese in the afternoon.
You may ask, why corn meal?  Over the years I’ve seen English muffins with corn meal on the bottoms and I’ve seen semolina.  Is one better than the other or more authentic?  A quick internet search I did this morning, didn’t turn up a consensus.  The function of either is to prevent sticking to the pan, griddle or spatula and lend a crispness to the crust and bottom.  I can’t help thinking it may also be to pull some moisture out of the dough while they rise, seems logical that would result.  In different locations corn meal may be more readily available and cheaper than semolina and would so be more likely to be used.  Either will serve the same function and work well.
The only tricky part of these is getting them reasonably done without burning the bottom.  Elizabeth solved that for me because my copy of Rose Levy Beranbaum, Quick Breads, Little Quick Breads, Little Yeast Breads, and Batter Breads, The Bread Bible, p170 is still packed away and I wasn’t bright enough on my own to consider sticking my thermometer  into the center of one of these to see were it was.  Try for 190°.  Elizabeth finished her’s in the oven which I think I’ll try when I finish my remaining six this afternoon but it maybe just turning the griddle down and cooking longer would work as well.

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Recipe from: Pat “Feeding My Enthusiasms”  From:  SeriousEats

English Muffins
Yield: 12 – I got 11

245 grams bread flour
40 grams rye flour (originally this 40 grams was bread flour)
140 grams whole wheat flour
11  grams table salt or (11 grams kosher or 2 3/4 teaspoons)
4 grams instant dry yeast 1 1/4 teaspoons
340 grams ounces cold milk
100 grams honey, I used only 55 grams
1 large egg white, cold
fine cornmeal to cover muffins on two sheet pans with space around them – Elle), don’t skip this
bacon or butter or oil, for griddling

Make the Dough and Let Rise: 
In a large bowl, mix bread flour, whole wheat flour, kosher salt, and yeast together until well combined.
Add milk, honey, and egg white, stirring until smooth, about 5 minutes.
Cover with plastic and set aside until spongy, light, and more than doubled, 4 to 5 hours at 70°F.

Knee deep in corn meal.

For the Second Rise:  Thickly cover a rimmed aluminum baking sheet with an even layer of cornmeal.
With a large spoon, dollop out twelve 2 2/3-ounce (75g) portions of dough I only got 11 muffins none weighed more than 78 grams or less than 72 grams; it’s perfectly fine to do this by eye.
If you’d like, pinch the irregular blobs here and there to tidy their shape.  My dough was to sticky to do much shaping, I went with what fell on the pan.  They all came out looking like … English muffins
Sprinkle with additional cornmeal, cover with plastic, and refrigerate at least 12 and up to 42 hours.

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Rising on the griddle! Oolala!

To Griddle and Serve:  Preheat an electric griddle to 325°F or warm a 12-inch cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. When sizzling-hot, add half the butter and melt; griddle muffins until their bottoms are golden brown, about 8 minutes. Flip with a square-end spatula and griddle as before. Transfer to a wire rack until cool enough to handle, then split the muffins by working your thumbs around the edges to pull them open a little at a time. Toast before serving and store leftovers in an airtight container up to 1 week at room temperature (or 1 month in the fridge).

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Special Equipment:  Flexible spatula,  rimmed baking sheet, griddle (electric or cast iron) or 12-inch cast iron skillet, square-end spatula, wire rack

Must be toasted to finish cooking.

Seriously easy.  Oh and that photo reminds me: homemade slow cooker apple butter is an absolute winner on these too!

Go for it why don’t you. Bake with us. Check out Pat, FeedingMyEnthusiasms for all the scoop and be a Bread Baking Buddy.  Don’t forget all the other Babes, we all had different experiences.


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BBB ~ Pumpkin Cornmeal Bread

Judy from Gross Eats is our Kitchen of the Month for October.  This was a most interesting bake!

I was excited to try this one because 1.) I have baked many of Beth Hensperger’s recipes from this book and her other books and always enjoyed them, 2.) the seasonal timing appealed and 3.) because of the ingredient combo.
I was delighted to try something pumpkin right now and I really liked the rye and cornmeal combo.
Of course I added that little bit of flax. I also had a large bag of pepitas on the counter and they seemed super appropriate. Of course pumpkin just pretty much begged for cinnamon in my book. I used a combo of flours replacing the original bread or all purpose flour.

The dough was silky and lovely to knead.
If I weren’t already in the process of perfecting another recipe (for a rye) bread, I would take this one on because it has so much promise but ultimately both Gorn & I were slightly disappointed with this bake.  We enjoyed the texture and the crust on this loaf but even using terrific flavor ingredients (strong molasses, great flour, cinnamon, pumpkin) we both of us failed to get much flavor from a slice.  We both agreed a slice has a lovely pumpkin aroma.  We just didn’t get it on the tongue.
I would recommend using more pumpkin (reduce or even entirely replace the water) and going with more cinnamon and/or pumpkin pie spice.

I did half the recipe and baked in a smaller pullman pan without the lid.

Recipe From  Judy(Gross Eats)  adapted from Bread for All Seasons by Beth Hensperger

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Pumpkin Cornmeal Bread

HALF RECIPE what I baked
1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
123 grams warm water (105˚ to 115˚)
124 grams warm buttermilk (105˚ to 115˚)
40 grams melted butter or oil
50 grams light molasses
1/4 cup pumpkin purée (either canned or homemade)
1 teaspoon salt
100 grams fine- or medium-grind yellow cornmeal
130 grams medium rye flour
124 grams Hovis flour, because I had it
130 grams sprouted wheat flour
140 grams white whole wheat flour
20 grams flax meal

1. In a large bowl, combine yeast, ground flax, salt, cornmeal, and rye flour.   Whisk to mix well.

Add warm water, buttermilk, melted butter/oil, molasses, and pumpkin purée. Beat until smooth (1 to 2 minutes) using either a whisk or the paddle attachment on a mixer.

Add the unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour, ½ cup at a time, until it becomes a soft dough. Knead until smooth and slightly tacky, either by hand or with a dough hook.

2. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the top; cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until double, about 1 ½ to 2 hours, depending on how warm it is.

3. Turn onto work surface and divide the dough into 2 or 3 equal round portions. Place on parchment-lined baking pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 45 minutes.

4. To make dinner rolls, divide the dough into 24 equal portions and shape as desired.

Place on parchment-lined baking pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 20 minutes, or place in refrigerator for 2 hours to overnight.

Twenty minutes before baking, heat the oven to 375˚, using a baking stone, if you wish. While the oven is heating, brush the tops with melted butter.

Bake in the center of the preheated oven until golden brown: 40-45 minutes for loaves or 15 to 18 minutes for rolls. Remove from oven, let cool on rack until completely cool.

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Since this was all whole grain, I baked this at 370° F (convection) for 50 minutes at which point it registered 199°F internal temperature.  It was baked through and not raw as can easily happen with all whole grains when I don’t check temperature of the bread.

Here’s hoping you’re all in the mood for some fall baking, and you give this delicious bread a try.  If you do decide to be a Buddy, please send your baking story and photos to Judy at jahunt22 dot gmail dot com by October 29th, and they will be included in the Buddy Roundup.

PS: Well now we’ve enjoyed this as our afternoon treat with apple butter!  Somehow that brings out the pumpkin in the bread for me.

 


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Swiss Rye Ring/Brasciadela/Kantonsbrot Graubünden ~ BBB

Cathy, Bread Experience, is our Kitchen of the Month and she has brought us a wonderful rye bread!

Cathy was super lucky to attend a conference and take a workshop with Stanley Ginsberg  http://theryebaker.com/swiss-rye-ring/#more-335  !  I’ve had his book, the Rye Baker, for quite some time and just drool over the cover.  Westphalian Pumpernickel.  I think I’ve had this or something very close in Austria once and was instantly in love.  What stops me from making this one … my stand mixer packed away in some box unidentifiable for the last 5 years.  Basically I refuse to unpack anything more for the kitchen until I have cabinets.  Cabinets maybe in the making this winter and would go in in the early Spring next year IF my latest cabinet maker comes through for me soon.  The clutter now is just too much, anything more would put me over the edge.

I’ve had plenty of success mixing by hand with recipes that “require” the stand mixer but none required kneading after pouring boiling water over flour. Sometimes I toy with getting some large rubber gloves and putting them on over 2 or 3 pairs of cotton gloves but so far I haven’t made that jump.

Straight off I’ll tell you Gorn & I are both Rye lovers. Here, I am always on the look out for the dark dense rye’s. When we’ve traveled in Europe, I always seek out the darkest ryes that I can find. Always flavorful and able to stand up to flavorful meats and cheeses, the tight crumb of rye breads makes them perfect for just about anything you can put between two slices.

This Swiss Rye Ring is a tight crumb with a mild flavor that we’re going through very quickly. This recipe bakes into a glorious loaf that even without the traditional caraway seeds, shines with the true spicy rye flavor. The first ring loaf was gone in a day and a half. The second ring loaf I fear will be gone today. The only thing wrong that I found with this bread was I was unable to find any smoked salmon to serve with it. I feel cheated while enjoying every bite of this wonderful rye. Thanks for this one Cathy.

Swiss Rye Ring/Brasciadela/Kantonsbrot Graubünden
Recipe From: Cathy (breadexperience) and adapted from Stanley Ginsberg
Yield: 2 rings 1 1/4 lb. each (575 grams)
Rye Sponge:
300 grams Medium rye flour (used pumpernickel)
200  grams Warm (105°F/41°C) water
20 grams Rye sour culture (see below)
Wheat Poolish:
200 grams First clear flour (used half whole wheal + half bread flour)
200 grams Cold water
8 grams Instant yeast
Final Dough:
520 grams Rye sponge
408 grams Wheat poolish
110 Medium rye flour (used pumpernickel)
210 grams White rye flour (used rye flour)
82 grams First clear flour (used half whole wheal + half bread flour)
170 grams Warm (105°F/41°C) water
20 grams Salt
Rye Starter/Culture ~ Day One
70 grams Organic whole grain Rye Flour
70  grams Warm water
Day Two – Seven
70 grams Culture from preceding day
70  grams Organic whole grain Rye Flour
70 grams Warm Water

1. Rye Sponge Combine the sponge ingredients by hand into a stiff dough, cover and ferment at room temperature (70°F/21°C) until doubled in volume 10-12 hours or overnight.
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2. Wheat Poolish Mix the poolish ingredients by hand, cover and refrigerate 10-12 hours or overnight.

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3. Final Dough In the mixer, combine the final dough ingredients and use the dough hook at low (KA2) speed to mix into a stiff, slightly sticky dough that leaves the sides of the bowl and gathers around the hook, 6-8 minutes. This is one of those recipes that says use a stand mixer and I did not.  I think it worked perfectly without the mixer by hand.

Cover the dough and bulk ferment at room temperature until doubled in volume, 60-75 minutes.
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4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into two pieces weighing about 26 oz./750 g each. Form each piece into an oblong about 18 inches/45 cm long and 2 inches/5 cm in diameter. Shape each into a ring, wetting the ends to seal, and place on a well-floured peel, if using a baking stone, or parchment-lined sheet pan.

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5. Cover and proof at room temperature until the breads have visibly expanded and surface shows cracks or broken bubbles.

6. Preheat the oven to 480°F/250°C with the baking surface in the middle and a steam pan on a lower shelf. Dock the surface of each loaf thoroughly and evenly to a depth of at least ¼”/0.6 cm. with a fork, chopstick or docking wheel.

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7. Bake with steam 15 minutes, then remove the steam pan, reduce the temperature to 410°F/210°C and bake until the loaves thump when tapped with a finger and the internal temperature is at least 198°F/92°C, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool thoroughly before slicing.

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8. RYE STARTER Mix the equal amounts (by weight) of organic rye flour and water.
Cover.
Allow to stand 24 hours at room temperature.
Dad Two – Seven:
Keep 70 grams of previous day’s culture and mix with equal amounts (by weight) of organic rye flour and water.

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Cathy is the host kitchen this month.  We’d love for you to join us. All you need to do is bake this bread and send an email to breadexperience at gmaildotcom and Cathy send you a Buddy badge.  If you don’t have a blog, no worries, just take a photo and post it to the BBBs Facebook group.  We look forward to seeing your lovely breads.

It is a very memorable delicious rye bread!


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BBB ~ Velvety Bean Bread

I don’t know about you but every once in a while I get smug and think “I’ve really baked a lot of breads.  No ALL breads but maybe I’m getting where I’m really comfortable I’ve got really good exposure to most things bread … but then there’s always another month and another Babe coming up with something just a little different.  This month it’sKelly (Hobby Baker) from A Messy Kitchen.

Always bake the original recipe before changing any thing … right?  And when have I ever done that …
So, I created an over nite soaker.
I considered the pros and cons of replacing bean liquid for water. In the end I tasted the bean water and rejected adding it because it had too strong a bean flavor.  Nothing wrong with bean flavor but it seemed wrong for bread.
Always I added flax.
I used all of the yeast because I only used whole grains.
My major failing was knowing this was whole grain and not having a thermometer.  In my Dad’s old house, I’m working with an oven that is over 45 years old, badly mistreated and scheduled for replacement on our next visit.  Between the oven and no thermometer, I way underbred these two small loaves.  The rye flavor was awesome but we could only enjoy a slice toasted so that it finished cooking. 
If you can forgive my excuses, this is a treat of a bread with the rye flour.  While the taste of this bread does not make one think “health food mediocre”, I have to think this is a super nutritious bread using the beans! 

Kelly (Hobby Baker) from A Messy Kitchen found this recipe in Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour and Tradition around the World
Yield: 2 small loaves

OVER NITE SOAKER
330 grams water (1.5 cup)
120 grams sprouted spelt flour
DOUGH
all of the soaker
2 cups drained cooked navy beans, room temp.
30 grams flax meal
120 grams sprouted rye flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons caraway
130 grams white whole wheat flour
130  grams bread flour

1.  Mix water and flour in soaker and cover several hours or overnight.

2.  Process beans until smooth, transfer to a large bowl or stand mixer.

Add the sprouted flour and yeast and stir for one minute, in one direction, to develop the dough.
Add the oil, salt, and seasoning herb or spice, if using and stir them in.
Add 1 cup of the white whole wheat flour and stir in.
Add the remaining flour and knead in with a dough hook, or work in and knead by hand for about 5 minutes, until smooth.

3.  Place dough in a bowl, cover, and let rise for 3 hours, until almost doubled in volume. (There should be about 2.5 pounds of dough.)

4.  Turn out dough and divide in half. Butter two 8×4″ pans.
Form each portion of dough into a loaf and place seam side down in the pans.
Rolled each loaf in caraway seeds.
The directions say to let rise for 2½ hours. That was too long for my kitchen. The above loaf was baked after 1 hour 45 minutes. You’ll have to watch the dough for proper rise. Check at 1 hour and continue to proof if needed.

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5.  Preheat oven to 400ºF, have a spray bottle or small cup of water ready for steam. Slash each loaf lengthwise , place in oven and bake for 5 minutes, adding steam every couple minutes with the sprayer or cup.

Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375ºF and bake for 25 minutes until rich brown with a matte finish.

Turn the loaves out and check for doneness. Finish cooling on a wire rack before slicing.

Here’s a great little article on the different white beans:
4 Types of White Beans: What’s the Difference?

The side note on this experience, very generic as it is and will be true of all dough I mix/knead in future: I bought a pastry non-stick mat.  If you want to save money or spend nothing more on kitchen/baking, skip this nest two paragraphs.  What you may ask is a non-stick pastry mat and why would I lay out any $$ for that.  Even though it’s very recently something prompted me to look these up, now I don’t remember what it was.  The first couple I found were super $$$ and I was losing interest rapidly.  Then I found one I think for under $30 and read the reviews.  It was the reviews that really sold me. 

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Now my review might sell you so you get a 2nd chance to stop reading here if you don’t want to get interested.  Always when I knead, mix or roll out anything on my counter, I clean it … and then I have to clean it again when finished.  Sometimes dough really leaves a funky residue to clean off and it can get tedious.  NOTHING sticks to the pastry mat AND it doesn’t slide.  Clean up is super simple.  When I roll it out, I know I left it clean!  The mat comes marked clearly with all sorts of measurements all over – along the edges and all those circles for rolling pie crust in the center.  Dream come true.  Yep, you want one now.
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I won’t say you have to or that you knead to run out and get a pastry non-stick mat but I would encourage you to bake the Velvety Bean Bread and make it with rye … assuming you enjoy rye.  I’m sure you have a better oven than I and you’re in your own kitchen with a thermometer. 

Join the Bread Baking Babes and bake up a unique little loaf that is high in protein but a little lower in gluten than normal.  This is a lovely little bread and we would love for you to bake along with us!  Just bake your version of this bread by July 30th and send Kelly a note with your results and a picture or link to your post at eleyana(AT)aol(DOT)com with Buddy Bread in the subject line and she will include you in our buddy round up at the beginning of next month and send you a Buddy badge graphic to keep and/or add to your post.  You don’t have to have a blog to participate, a picture is fine!